


when you say my name my universe feels like everything

by wishingtowritefornow



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Acxa & Keith (Voltron) are Siblings, Allura & Keith (Voltron) Friendship, Asexual Pidge | Katie Holt, Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Gay Keith (Voltron), Gender-Neutral Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Hunk & Lance (Voltron) Friendship, Hunk & Pidge | Katie Holt Friendship, Hunk (Voltron) is a Good Friend, Hunk (Voltron) is so Pure, Keith & Pidge | Katie Holt Friendship, Keith (Voltron) is Bad at Feelings, Keith (Voltron) is a Mess, Lance & Pidge | Katie Holt Friendship, Lance (Voltron) is a Mess, Lance just wants to be loved, Lesbian Romelle (Voltron), M/M, Mentioned Krolia (Voltron), Minor Acxa/Veronica (Voltron), Minor Allura/Romelle (Voltron), Minor Hunk/Shay (Voltron), Multi, Nonbinary Pidge | Katie Holt, Pansexual Allura (Voltron), Socially Awkward Keith (Voltron), Some angst, Trans Romelle (Voltron), okay look i love him, sorry but it has to be done, texas is mentioned too but rlly brief until later
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-19
Updated: 2019-06-19
Packaged: 2020-05-14 12:52:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,918
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19273732
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wishingtowritefornow/pseuds/wishingtowritefornow
Summary: "Lance was seven when he decided to start writing down and documenting the songs his soulmate listened to. It started with Dreaming of You and (at that time) ended with a soft lullaby Lance’s parents could never find. He assumed Keith’s mother had sang it to him, or an older sister. His Mama did it for him, and Veronica loved singing to him before bed.He called the song: And My Heart Will Stay."Lance is an eighteen year old, sharing a dorm with his two best friends in college. He wants to get closer to his soulmate, but that seems impossible with his distance, his silence, his sadness. An unexpected turn of events leads him straight to where he wants to be--that doesn't mean anything when his soulmate seems more far away than he ever did when they were miles and miles apart.





	when you say my name my universe feels like everything

**Author's Note:**

> im so sad and i miss klance idk if anyone reads it anymore but lets hope!! sjksjks okay here we go: 
> 
> this is a mix of like three soulmate au’s:  
> 1\. you can hear the music your soulmate listens to/is singing along too. distantly you can hear your soulmates voice.  
> 2\. you can feel the pain or happiness (etc.) of whatever your soulmate is feeling.  
> 3\. marks appear on your skin when your soulmate writes something (etc.) on it.
> 
> i hope you enjoy and special thanks to dia for bein my (kinda) beta reader and for the kloinkers for being their goofy selves and giving me the motivation to write this and be back on my writing! 
> 
> without further ado, when you say my name my universe feels like everything begins!

Lance’s parents used to joke around about his soulmate’s parents played horrible music when he was a baby, which is why Lance cried so much.

 

 

-

 

 

Lance was three years old when he was able to talk and tell his parents about the music in his head. When they explained the paint splatters on his skin, the happiness warm in his chest.

Lance still remembers the song; his parents had helped him find it that fateful day on August fourth.

_Dreaming of You by Selena._

 

 

_-_

 

 

 

Lance was seven when he decided to start writing down and documenting the songs his soulmate listened to. It started with _Dreaming of You_ and (at that time) ended with a soft lullaby Lance’s parents could never find. He assumed Keith’s mother had sang it to him, or an older sister. His Mama did it for him, and Veronica loved singing to him before bed.

He called the song: _And My Heart Will Stay._

 

 

 

_-_

 

 

 

Lance was nine when got a ray of colors on his both arms, a sunlight collection on his left, and a purple lilac galaxy of colors on his right.

His parents sat with him as it appeared on his skin, every brush stroke, every careful swipe. Lance listened to the soft jazz put on, telling his Papa to do the same.

And he did.

And they sat there for four hours, watching, waiting.

At the end, when Lance pressed against his arms to make _sure_ his parents were right and it wouldn’t go away if he showered, his Mama grabbed a pen and wrote on Lance’s arm with tears and a smile, _Thank you._

His soulmate’s mother, they assumed, wrote back, _Forever and always._

 

 

 

-

 

 

Lance was twelve when, in the middle of class, being the class clown he was, tears started to pour down his face.

 _“Uh, Lance?”_  Hunk had asked.

Lance was excused to the bathroom and given the phone he had taken away for playing Piano Tiles on. _Soulmate emergency._

He first tried writing on his arms.

_Are you okay?_

_Hey, is everything alright?_

_Please just let me know._

And was hit with a wave of sadness that made him nauseous.

Then he tried music.

He tried Selena, Beyoncé, and every other artist he could remember off the top of his head that his soulmate has listened to.

Nothing worked.

He tried the lullaby his soulmate’s mom had sung. It only made the sadness hit harder, become darker, tears falling faster.

So, he tried his own.

One his Mama had sung to him when he was sad or angry, or sleepy.

Halfway though, the tears stopped.

But he continued.

He sang when three other boys came in and saw him slouched against the bathroom wall, eyes puffy and tears hanging off his eyelashes.

He sang when they nodded and patted his shoulder and left.

He sang when Hunk came and sat down beside him, passing a note that offered his own lullaby.

In a language Lance’s soulmate probably couldn’t understand but hey, they didn’t know what he spoke.

Lance nodded to that, and the song ended.

He didn’t feel as sad but he just felt… empty. Like something that was supposed to be there _wasn’t._

Hunk had began singing, and Lance leaned a head on his shoulder as the tears began again, but now for a different reason.

On his arm, the one that wasn’t filled with writings, Lance’s soulmate had written; _Thank you._

Lance smiled and pressed a kiss to it.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

Lance is now eighteen and shares a dorm with his best friend’s, Pidge and Hunk, technical geniuses.

“Lance, open the fucking door!” Pidge bangs their hands on the wooden bathroom door, knees tucked together.

Lance doesn't reply, only cackles. 

“I’m going to turn on the sink, washing machine, _and_ the fucking dishwasher if you don’t open this god damn door!”

“I’m showering!” Lance screeches, and at this point he's just doing it to be an asshole. 

“I’m pissing myself!” Pidge hisses back. They bang louder on the door. 

And the bickering goes on and on until Hunk arrives five minutes later from his Bio Chem class.

Lance hears Pidge whine about him not coming out of the shower, and Hunk stomps up to the door.

“Hey, bud, I know you’re really good about your skin care routine but Pidge needs to pee and I do too, it’s been a long day so could you maybe try and speed it up a bit?”

Sweet, sweet Hunk.

“Yeah, sure! I’m getting out now, lemme just wring out my washcloth!” Lance replies.

He hears Pidge growl and throws his head back in laughter. He thinks he's pretty funny. Even if he's doing so while ruining someone's bladder. 

Truth is, Lance had been in here staring at the new painting his soulmate was doing. It was a sunset, with mountains and trees and a lake not far from it, on his chest. He can’t stop running his hands over it as his soulmate, _Keith_ (he’d learned that name very long ago), swirled colors into the sky and dabbed green on top of the mountains.

He turned off the water and grabbed his towel, feeling shy about his painting display. Not that he didn’t like it, because being honest, he loved it. But it felt to private for anyone else to see right now, one, because it wasn’t finished, and two, because it was just _his_ and his _soulmates._

_Keith and Lance._

Lance steps out of the bathroom, flushing at the gasp Hunk and Pidge let out. “Yeah, yeah.”

“I don’t know if I should be worried about your soulmate painting his skin. Are you sure these paints aren’t toxic?” Hunk rambles. “You should probably check.”

Lance smiles at his best friend, “ _Relax_ , Hunk. He knows what he’s doing. I’ve been getting markings like this since I was a niñto.”

“Please, Hunk,” Pidge snorts, “If Lance’s soulmate was going to get some kind of poisoning, it would’ve already happened. Remember sophomore year?”

Hell, yeah, he did. Who could forget?

Sophomore year, Lance was playing basketball, shirtless and in shorts, when the painting had started on his ankles. He fell and almost sprained his ankle because of the tingles.

Soon after sitting out, a crowd of kids had come to watch Lance’s soulmate paint on his body.

It ended up as a variety of landscapes and, picked as the fan favorite, was different planets hanging off of Lance’s hairline with thin white strings.

Yeah, it caused a pretty big crowd for Lance to have to deal with, especially when he was photographed and put on the school newspaper.

The number of people who flirted with him, or responded to his flirting, went down massively. He hadn’t known if it was a good or bad thing.

It was a train-wreck.

“I know,” Hunk sighs. “But I still get scared. Lance, you better start telling him to make sure he’s using body paint and not regular paint.” It was odd when Hunk used a stern dad voice, and it made Lance laugh.

“I will, I will.” He assures him, then excuses himself so he could get dressed.

Tingles danced on his chest as he pulled on sweats, holding his t-shirt in his hand while he watched his soulmate at work.

“Wanna film it?”

Lance jumps back, hitting his head on the top bunk’s side frame, groaning in discomfort. “Hey, maybe you could give me a warning next time you wanna jump up and scare me, you little shit.”

Pidge smirks, “Yeah, I could. That doesn’t mean I _will.”_

He silences them with a press of his index finger against his lips, sitting down on his bed.

Pidge sits besides him, swinging their legs as they watch Lance’s soulmate blend white into the colorful palate on his skin.

“He’s really good at it, you know.” Pidge says quietly. Lance nods.

Hunk appears with cookies that he’d set in the oven before leaving for class, setting the plate down behind them when he sits down on the other side of Lance.

“Hey, how’d we even know Lance’s soulmate is a _he,_ anyway? Did he, they, ever tell you, Lance?” Hunk asks. 

“Well,” Lance swallows. “Mama told me once when me and my soulmate were asleep, his mom and her had a conversation. It was on Mama’s old camera, but it got thrown out before we printed it. His mom thanked my mom for giving him the warmth at night he couldn’t get at home, and for showing him different languages and feelings. That’s when my Mama found out Ke-my soulmate was a boy.”

Hunk was quiet.

Pidge squints, snatching up a cookie. “That’s kind of creepy, Mama Mclain. Also, yum!”

Lance snickers softly, frowning when the tingles on his skin stops. 

“I think… I think he’s done?” Lance says. 

They waited around for about five more minutes.

Nothing happened.

“Yup,” Lance sighs, “He’s done.”

And grabbed a pen from his study notes on his pillow, writing, _Thanks ☺♥._

Keith replies, **_Forever_** _**and** **always** **∞♥**_

“Alrighty then,” Pidge hops off of Lance’s bunk, dusting their hands free of cookie crumbs. “I gotta help Rover study with his… stuff.”

“Stuff?” Lance raises an eyebrow.

“Mhm,” Pidge doesn't bother looking back at Hunk and Lance as they bolt out the door.

“Man, they really are whipped for Rover.” Hunk looked down in his lap, twiddling idly with his fingers.

Lance lays a hand on his arm, “Dude, you and Shay are so close to meeting. You just… gotta wait like, five more months. It may seem like forever, but you gotta let yourself have this, man.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

Lance checked the time. “Aw, fuck, I got class.” He jumped up, rushing to put on his shirt and to find jeans.

“Second drawer!”

“Thank you!”

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

Lance hated lectures. Not like, _teaching lectures,_ but lectures for like _‘you did something bad now we gotta tell you why you shouldn’t have.’_

Right now, he was getting a lecture from Takashi Shirogane for running in the hallway with coffee, and the dangers of doing so.

“I’m real, really sorry, Mr. Shirogane. I won’t do it again but I just got out of class and I was trying to go find Hunk because-”

Because of Keith.

Something was _wrong_ with Keith, and Lance didn’t know how to help or what to do. He just knew that he was… he was _hurting._

Mr. Shirogane’s eyebrow raised.

Lance’s confidence faltered.

“-Because of study stuff.”

He trusted Mr. Shirogane, he really did, but somehow this part of Keith was too private for him. It felt like it wasn’t Lance’s business to tell about anything going on with him, especially the wave of emotions that threatened to spill tears from his crystal eyes.

“I’ll catch you later, Professor! It won’t happen again, promise!” And with that, he was running off.

With the coffee.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

Hunk wasn’t at the dorm when he got there, probably off buying food, which was good since Lance did want to spend some time with Keith, alone.

On his right arm, he wrote:

_Hey, Keith? You alright, babe?_

And sat and waited.

A few minutes passed when a song had begun to play, clouding up Lance’s thoughts and eyes with tears.

_“Walk me home in the dead of night / I can’t be alone with all this on my mind. So, say you’ll stay with me tonight / Cause there is so much wrong, going on outside.”_

Lance got the message loud and clear.

 _Alright, babes,_ He wrote.

_I won’t leave ♥_

 

 

Keith and him don't talk for the rest of the time they sit _—together,_ kind of _—_ and Lance is fine with that, and he's pretty sure Keith is, too, because he just continues listening to his sad music and Lance doesn't want to rush him into saying anything, so he lays down on his bed, pops open a can of Red Bull and starts on the essay due in Iverson's class. 

 

Lance likes to think him and Keith are getting closer. He hopes he's not the only one. 

He hopes to be as close as they used to be. 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

“Is he alright?” Hunk set down three plates of yellow rice and beans, placing the porkchop-newspaper-underneath in the middle of the small table.

Pidge reached for a floured chop, chowing it down as they listened to Lance and Hunk talk about _soulmate stuff._

“I think he is. You guys don’t mind the music playing, right? It calms him down, makes him feel less alone.” Lance sighed into a mouthful of rice.

Pidge pulled a pen out of their khaki pocket, motioning Lance towards them.

Lance pulled a face, puzzled.

“Your arm, Lance.” Pidge said.

“Oh.”

And handed over his arm.

“Since I know you would never ask since you’re a strict pussy,” Pidge mumbled, pressing the ballpoint onto Lance’s skin, snickering at his embarrassed comebacks, “I’m gonna do it for you.”

They handed Lance’s arm back, clicking the pen closed before sliding back into their seat and continuing with their meal.

_Will you draw something for me?_

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Lance didn’t get a reply until two in the morning, when he wakes up screaming about thinking roaches were crawling on him.

The tingles were warmer, yet duller. Sadder. Depressing. It felt like something out of a poem book, and it squeezed at Lance’s heart.

Pidge and Hunk offered to stay up with Lance as Keith painted on his, their, skin, but he just waved them off and told them to get a good night’s sleep before they had class again.

Playing in the background of it was something about someone being the only good thing that the said person singing could see.

Keith meant him.

Keith meant Lance.

Keith thought Lance was the only good person he knew right now.

The thought filled Lance with warmth, guilt, and sadness all in one. It shamed him, he felt like he shouldn’t have been excited at the that fact. Something had happened to Keith, and even if Lance didn’t know what it was, it was still a nerve-wracking and tear-jerking reason.

He stayed up until his eyes couldn’t stay open any longer and let himself fall deep into the feeling of a bond, a calling, a song on his skin.

He decides that right now, he is Keith’s home. He’s ready to take on that duty.

He is Keith’s home.

Lance can feel the tenderness of his feelings into his rest, his dreams.

Lance is Keith’s home.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

“I’m freaking the fuck out, Lance!” Pidge runs their hands through their hair, then slaps them down on their thighs.

“Okay, well, first of all, don’t do _that_ ,” Lance pats their hair down, trying to fix the angry parts that stood up. “And, Pidge, _c’mon_! This is _Rover_ we’re talking about! Your soulmate, if you’ve forgotten.”

His matter-of-fact tone makes Pidge glare.

“I _do_ remember and that’s the fucking _problem!”_ They yell. “I’ve never been on a _date_ before! What the hell do people do on dates anyways? Like—”

They begin pacing around the room, Lance is rolling his eyes—

“Who even _goes_ on dates anymore, y’know? And, like, who _likes dates?_ Pssh, just going somewhere to _go—”_

They pick out their hoodie strings, Lance grabs a tart from the silver tray Hunk places down—

“You know what? Dates should be _cancelled!_ James Charles cancelled! Hey sisters, dates are officially-fucking- _over!_ Oh, you wanna know why?”

They jump up and slam back down, a scowl on their face.

“Because they are _completely and utterly unneeded and nobody fucking wants them!”_

Hunk hands Pidge a tart as they sit down in the middle of him and Lance, still grumbling about the topic.

“Well,” Hunk says, taking a bite of his tart, “You did say yes, Pidge. Sorry to break it to you, but it’s kinda too late to say no, now.”

Pidge’s head falls into their hands and they groan, loudly.

“I don’t _want_ to say no, Hunk. I’m just worried? I guess. I don’t know anymore!” They fall back dramatically on Lance’s bunk just as a knock on the door is heard between the three.

“Oh no,” Pidge whispers.

Lance pulls his lips together to hold back a smile.

“I’m not ready,” Pidge continues.

“You are,” Hunk tells them. “You’re dressed and everything.”

Pidge closes their eyes, eyebrows pinching together. “I mean _emotionally ready,_ Hunk. Do I look emotionally fucking stable to you right now?”

“When do any of us look mentally stable? Be honest.” Lance contorts.

“No one asked you, asshole.”

“Well, Rover’s at the door, Pidge.”

“ _Yes,_ Hunk, I understand.”

“Are you gonna answer it?”

“Lance, I’m going to throw out your Kylie Jenner lip kit if you don’t shut up and let me think.”

_“Not Kylie.”_

“I could tell him you’re sick?”

“No! That’ll make him wanna come see me even _more!”_

Another knock.

Lance gets up, “I’m answering it.”

Pidge jumps up after him, eyes widening and hands grabbing at his shirt, pants, anything, but it’s too late. Lance is already opening the door, welcoming in Rover with a warm smile that Pidge can very well see through.

_Bastard._

“Um, hi?” Rover says, and Pidge’s heart melts.

The fondness in Pidge’s face makes Lance silently coo, and Hunk trudges up behind Pidge, bottom lip jutting out.

Rover’s adorable. Rover’s always been adorable. Curly, ebony black hair with barely noticeable highlights, a litter of freckles along his face, arms, legs, and warm green eyes. He looks like a nerd, but in a good way. Wearing a black shirt with a robot on it, shaking hands with an alien. Dark khaki’s that Lance loves to snicker at because, well, he’s an asshole and khakis are _gross._

“Hey, Rover,” Pidge says softly, and walks over to pull him in a hug.

Lance resist the urge to tease, no matter how much he wants to. And, c’mon, it’s a cute scene, looking like they don’t know what to do once they’ve pulled away.

“Okay!” Hunk claps his big hands, pressing them against the two’s backs and leading them out the door. “Have fun on your date, Rover, Pidge! We’ll have some leftovers from tonight, if you come back to the dorm. See you!”

And promptly slams the door shut in their faces.

Lance breaks out into laughter not even a second later, and Hunk hastily follows in suit.

“Twenty bucks they’re gonna text us not even five minutes in,” Hunk bet, wiping at his eyes. “Twenty bucks they’re gonna kick your ass when they get back for shoving them out like that in their ‘mental breakdown’.” Lance snorted.

He took out his phone, flopping back onto his bed with a sigh.

Hunk started laughing again, full and hearty, long strings of the sound. “Pidge is freaking out in the group chat, ohmigod-”

 

 

 **pidgetto**  
IM GONNA FUCKING MURDER YOU HUNK  
ROVER SAW ME TRIP WHEN I WALKED OUT OF THE DORM’S I HATE MY FUCKING LIFEEEEEEEEE  
ATLEAST SAY SOMETHING ASSWIPES

 

 

 

Lance is full-blown, body curled laughing right now. Flustered, angry Pidge is adorable and hilarious.

“You doing something with your soulmate tonight? Helping Shay study?” Lance asks Hunk when he catches his breath, sending laughing emojis to the chat.

“Nah,” Hunk replies, laying down on his own bed. “I’m gonna nap for a few hours since we don’t have class today. Shay’s down with her family and I don’t want to bother her, so I’m just gonna take a me day.”

Lance smiles, “Yeah, feel you, man.”

Tired, worn-out, and content with how the days going so far, Lance falls into a deep sleep where he can hear music, and he’s taken back to his family, and he’s alright.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

“Hunk, you owe me about ten dinners for that move you pulled.” Pidge chomped down on another chicken wing drenched in hot sauce, keeping their eyes glued to the TV screen as they spoke.

“I’m _sorry,_ Pidge. But someone had to do it!” Hunk throws his hands up, “You probably wouldn’t even had left the house if it weren’t for me so give the big guy some credit!”

“He’s got a point,” Lance says, slurping down on his noodles.

They’ve got a whole feast tonight, since Hunk was watching his weird eating ASMR videos and wanted to try Korean corn dogs, with french-fries in the batter, mozzarella filled, dipped in extremely spicy sauce.

Lance had to give props; this food was _good._ The spicy noodles actually tested his spice tolerance, and it takes a lot to do that. His favorite was the delicious honey kirimochi, which was supposed to be for dessert but since Lance kept picking at it, they just decided to eat everything at once.

The only thing left to try was the cheesy cheese balls coated in cheese powder of some sort, and the bubble tea that Hunk had fallen in love with at first glance.

“Someone get a cup and pour it in, I don’t wanna share a straw with you germ freaks.” Pidge scowled, turning to hit Lance on his shoulder. He laughed, poking the wide straw into the plastic top.

“ _Oh my god_ ,” Lance moaned, mouth full of strawberry boba and mango tea. “It’s-it’s so good, it’s fucking _de-li-cious_. I’m gonna have a food-gasm, holy _shit.”_

And he’s not lying. As the other two try it, their reactions are the same. Hunk must have a sixth sense for good food (probably why he’s so damn good at cooking), and Lance is very fond of it and very fond of this food.

“I wish Keith could try this,” Lance says, huffing. His shoulders feel sagged, and Pidge turns to him with an abrupt gasp.

“Who the hell is Keith?! Are you _cheating on me?”_ And it’s so funny that Lance has to at least chuckle, but he just outed his soulmate’s name and that wasn’t something he planned on doing tonight.

“No, seriously, who’s Keith? A friend?” Hunk asks, brushing crumbs and dust off from the cheese balls.

“He’s, uh, no one. Just- some guy. You know. That I happen to know.” Lance trips over his words, and Pidge is giving him that _uh-huh-sure-you-do_ look.

“He’s my soulmate,” Lance says, and a weight seems to be lifted off his shoulders.

Huh. Maybe he should tell more stuff often, if the relief is this well.

“Keith is your _soulmate?”_ Pidge yelps, standing up and almost tumbling the chicken bucket with them. “You _met your soulmate?!”_

“ _What?_ Pidge, no, I just- I know his _name_ is all.” Lance shrugs like it’s not a big deal. Hunk frowns, “You found out your soulmate’s name and didn’t tell us?”

Lance sighs, “Well, it just wasn’t—and isn’t—that big of a deal. His name’s Keith, woohoo.” Lance wants to make it a big deal, because it is.

Damn. He should’ve just told them sooner.

“How long have you known?” Pidge asks, eyes narrowed.

“About… five years.” Lance cringes as Hunk’s eyes widen, and a flash of hurt shows on his face.

“You knew your _soulmate’s name_ for five years and didn’t tell us?” Hunk asks, and his voice is so sweet and soft and Lance feels bad.

“I’m sorry, okay? I just- it felt a little, I dunno, private? For him. And me. For us. If that makes sense.” Yup, Lance is so not good at this.

“You better tell us _everything_ about how it happened,” Pidge’s tone is threatening as they sit back down and reach for a cheese ball and the boba tea.

“Pidge, if you put the straw in your mouth while chewing, I’ll fucking stab you with this chicken bone. And, if you wanna hear it…”

He talks about the way he found out Keith’s name. He talks about how they used to have late night talks until Lance could barely keep his eyes open, until Keith’s handwriting became even loopier than it already was.

He talks about how one day the talking just… stopped, and things were never the same between them again.

Pidge understands, but still chucks a pillow at him for not letting them in on this. Hunk brings out the _real_ dessert, which is fried dough and a lot of powdered sugar and strawberry syrup, and they giggle and talk until they eventually pass out from being sleep-deprived and eating a hell of a lot of food.

Lance feels a burden lifted off his shoulders at telling his friends. Confiding might be easier than he thought.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

Lance loved his family. He did, truly. They were always there for him and gave him love and respect.

But he’d be lying if he said he didn’t want to punch Veronica through his phone.

She’s ranting about her soulmate— _again—_ and keeps talking about her younger brother and how nice her family is. Cool, Ronnie, now _shut up._

“He’s such an adorable little bean! Kind of like a grumpy cat! He doesn’t look like any of them, Acxa and Keith are both adopted.”

The name catches him off guard, and it falls so smoothly from her lips he almost doesn’t register what she said.

It was _also_ pretty hard to hear with his soulmate blasting ‘ _Creep’_ in his ear for the fifth time that day.

“Wait—you said Keith?” Lance asks and knocks on his head. Wouldn’t get through to his soulmate but he was willing to try _anything_ at this point.

“Yeah, why?” Veronica shuffles with something in the background.

“ _Ugh,_ hold on,” Lance grabs his laptop from his bed, searching for a song with the words, _‘stop it, stop it’_ or at least ‘ _quiet’._

The music stops a few minutes later.

“Soulmate?” Veronica asks, humor clear in her tone. Lance groans, ruffling his hair. “Dios, Ronnie, you don’t even _know.”_

His sister laughs, then says, “I’ll call you back when I’m done with classes. Talk to you later, hermano.” 

Lance gives her a ‘yup’ and hangs up in her face.

Then he freaks out.

 **The Sexier Twin  
 **WAIIT WHAT DID U SAY ACXA’S BROTHERS NAME WAS???

 **The Smarter Twin  
 **Uh?? Keith??

 **The Sexier Twin  
 **do u know if he was listenin to any uhHhH music today >.<

 **The Smarter Twin**  
First of all that face is fucking gross don’t ever use it again  
And no?? I didn’t even get to see him all that much he was in his room like,, the whole time. He’s like some weird demon ghost thing with an adorable face  
Why /exactly/ did you wanna know?

 **The Sexier Twin  
**no reason

 **The Smarter Twin**  
Uh huhhh  
Don’t you have cLass??

 **The Sexier Twin  
**NO SHUT UP

 **The Smarter Twin**  
WHY ARENT U IN CLASS LANCE  
  
**The Sexier Twin**  
i do wot i want

 

Maybe he'll talk to his siblings a little more. He misses his family. 

Nothing fatal. Just homesick. 

Just homesick. 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

“So you think Veronica’s soulmate’s brother might be your soulmate?” Pidge asks, tweaking a screw on their new robot design. Lance shrugs, “I mean, I have reason to believe.”

“What’s your evidence?” Hunk leans closer to Pidge’s robot, fixing wires.

Lance scowls, “If that thing blows up, I’m gonna kill you guys.” He falls back on his bed, “And all I have so far is that his name is Keith and he is very grumpy. Which sounds familiar, if you ask me.”

“Well, ask Keith if he has any siblings.” Pidge suggest.

Lance gives her a look, flabbergast. “What in the— _no!_ We haven’t talked in _five years,_ Pidge. Not like a conversation-conversation, y’know? It’d be weird if I just hit him with that _‘you got a sister?’_ because it’s just—it’s been too long.”

“Then start out with ‘hi, you up?’ or ‘hey, you okay?’ or ‘hey, just wanted to talk to you!’” Pidge rolls their eyes, “Literally ask anything, Lance, _anything.”_

Lance frowns but grabs a pen from his nightstand anyway.

_Hey! Just checking in from yesterday, you alright?_

He waits.

And waits.

And waits about five more minutes.

And then—

“ _Pidge!_ Oh my god—okay he’s replying, oh Dios—”

**_i’m fine_ **

“Kinda dry, but that’s alright!” Lance says, and his smile is so wide and it’s basically reaching his ears and he looks so happy his cheeks might burst but _damn,_ it’s worth it.

**_sorry if i worried you_ **

Lance gives a fond, soft look to the writing on his arm.

He replies, _it’s okay, keith. just making sure you’re okay._

Keith’s reply is a simple blue heart, with a smiley face in the middle. He’s so _adorable_ and Lance is just falling, falling, falling.

 

Lance doesn't know if it's a good thing. He's  _fallen, fallen, fallen_ before and Keith left him high and dry. Not that Lance cares. It was five years ago. Five years. 

Grudges aren't meant to last that long. 

Lance wants to let go. 

He can't let go. 

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

He forgets to ask if Keith has a sister. He forgets to ask the one thing he wanted to know because he was just so happy that Keith had replied in the first place.

Lance almost writes, _almost_ says, _i miss you._

But he stops at the last moment and Keith asks him what he was saying and he just says nothing and he regrets not saying it.

Because he does miss Keith.

He misses the gentle late-night talks, the song wars where they’d see who could stay up the longest, or who could play the worst songs, or who could listen to the songs on replay for the longest (Lance always won that, the music just kind of disappeared in the background after a while).

In all honesty, he just missed _Keith_ but saying that just… hurt. You couldn’t miss someone you’d never met, right? Even if it was your soulmate.

“You okay, bud?” Hunk asks, late at night when Lance is staring up at his ceiling, feeling cold and empty.

Lance wants to go _home._

He wants to see his mom and his dad and his sisters and his brothers and his nieces and nephews and cousins and aunts and uncles and his abuela and his abuleto and he wants to see his _home._

And he tells Hunk all about it when he’s crying in his arms, careful not to wake up Pidge, heart and head pounding and the homesickness rocking at the bottom of his stomach like a swing, using him as a punching bag.

_I wanna go home I wanna go home I wanans go shoem iw nagsh goheom iwnaahoem_

Keith plays music for him, and when that doesn’t work, he sings to him. Lance wants to thank him but he’s too hurt, too sad, too emotional.

_someone take me home_

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

Pidge wakes up the next morning and the first thing they do is hug Lance until his back cracks.

And he hugs her back, and a piece of home is right here, in front of him.

 For the first time in weeks, he feels at home. He lets the tension leak from his shoulders. 

Maybe it'll be alright. 

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

“Do you think he wants to hear from me again?” Lance asks nervously, chewing on caramel popcorn.

“Yes, Lance, for the last time, I’m about ninety-nine-point nine percent sure he wants to hear from you again.” Pidge says, rolling their eyes.

Allura gives Lance a look, rubbing her thumb back and forth on her girlfriends hand. “I take it you two have this conversation a lot?”

Pidge groans, “We have it _all the time._ Keith obviously wants to hear from Lance, which is why he’s been so keen on drawing more than lately. But Lance decides he wants to be an indecisive idiot and _not_ talk to him.”

Romelle giggles, “This is your soulmate, Lance, not some guy you met from a bar and hooked up with.”

Allura smiles fondly at Romelle, pressing a kiss to the tattoo marks on her face before saying, “I have to agree. Keith—right?—is surely hoping to hear from you again. A soulmate like him is very… hard to find. He’d do anything for you. He’s been painting on your skin for years; he’s felt the pain you have. You’ve told us about the things you two have… been through together. He seems like a kind soul, and—”

Lance jumps up from his beanbag chair, screeching.

“Lance! What the fuck?” Pidge yells, managing to grab the popcorn before it topples over.

“I-I’m sorry,” Lance says, and he’s laughing and his voice is shaking, “but it’s weirdly close to my dick, _oh my god—”_

Pidge yells again, and Allura makes a noise in disgust while Romelle laughs loudly.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry! It is! He scared me!” Lance laughs, trying to defend himself from the pillows being thrown at him.

Hunk makes a face, “Don’t tell me he’s trying that… _thing_ where soulmates, you know…” His voice trails off.

“No!” Lance yells, a pillow hitting him in the face. He glares at Pidge and throws it back, frowning when they dodge it. “He’s— _painting,_ but it’s close to my waist and like… pelvic bone.”

“I would like to see!” Romelle says, crawling over clumsily to Lance.

He laughs, eyes wide and frantic for help. Allura offers none, just a raise of her eyebrow in amusement. Hunk is frozen, and Pidge is laughing into their fist.

Lance slightly reveals more of his pelvic area, careful not to pull too far down. The waistband of his shorts cover some of the painting, but swirls of neon colors and black are seen clearly. Romelle runs her hand over it lightly, brushing over the smooth tan skin.

“It’s very beautiful.” She whispers, voice as light as her touch.

“Thank you,” Lance says, and his voice cracks at how close she is.

“Okay, okay, that’s enough. We need to pick one more movie!” Hunk’s gaze shifts to Lance, giving him a suspicious side eye. “If Keith goes anywhere near _you-know-what,_ just get out of the room—no one wants to see that.”

Lance’s laughter fades out as his friends begin to debate about Tangled or Predator 2. He looks down at the soul-mark being added to his skin, smiling down at it fondly.

He almost writes thank you, but for once, doesn’t feel the need to.

He thinks Keith already knows.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

Lance forgets about Keith when he plugs in his headphones and puts on his sleeping mask, listening to ocean waves and a soft piano.

He can't wait for Keith to make the music forever. Sometimes, you have to do things yourself. 

Keith doesn't seem to mind the music. 

Lance doesn't know if that bothers him or not. 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

_I don't want to spend my entire life waiting._

 

Lance is waiting. 

He's drowning, drowning so quickly and quietly and when he screams, no one hears him. He's in a bubble. Everyone has shut him out. There are marks on his arms, burning and they  _hurt_ and when he comes out of that bubble, everything burns and everything hurts. 

Lance doesn't go back to sleep. 

He think's Keith can feel his horror, his fear. 

It makes him angry. 

_He wasn't there he wasn't there HE LEFT YOU LANCE HE LEFT AND HE WASN'T GOING TO COME BACK WHY ARE YOU SO FORGIVING STOP FORGIVING HIM HE HURT YOU HE HURT US WE ARE NOTHING TO HIM IT'S BEEN THE SAME HE LEFT HE LEFT HE LEFT HE LEFT_

Lance holds that piece of him close. 

He left, a voice reminds him. He left. 

 _I know,_ Lance whispers back,  _I know._

 

_I'm tired of waiting._

 

 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> i hope you enjoyed this! i don't have an exact update schedule but i will figure out my time and limits! thank you so much for reading and stay prepared for more!
> 
> edit: i added more angst and matched the words up more (said, say, etc) since some things didnt make sense. i decided i wanted to make it just,,, more?? i guess?? and this is what my brain came up with. im going to try to get more into the "plot" (whatever that is lol) in the next chapter, and not make it choppy and seemed rushed. 
> 
> until next time, from the best soulmates in the entire galaxy; keith and lance (and me!!) 
> 
> <3


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